Bonding
by SuperMegaFoxyAwesomeHot
Summary: Based off and modified from this AU idea: you crouched down to coo at my baby but i forgot to tell you their favorite thing to do is to play with people's hair and now they won't let go of you


**Babyfic makes me so happy. :)))**

* * *

Kurt couldn't help but smile at Josie's happy babbles as they jogged (well, he was jogging, she was in her stroller) through Central Park. The weather was gorgeous, Josie had allowed him to put on her shoes without any fussing, and he even had enough time to stop for a quick pastry on the way home if he kept this pace up.

Unfortunately, Josie chose that moment to take off her shoes and chuck them in opposite directions, one landing on the other side of the footpath and the other nearly falling into a pile of goose poop in the grass nearby. Kurt ran to rescue that one first, leaving one arm stretched back towards her stroller like that could keep her from causing any more mischief while he had to look away.

He nearly dropped it again when he turned back and saw a handsome stranger approaching, Josie's other shoe in hand.

"I think this belongs to you?" he said, extending the shoe, and _oh_ , even his voice was cute. How unfair was that? "Or, rather, to her, but you might want them a little more."

"Yeah, she's not a big fan of shoes," Kurt said, taking the other shoe and dropping both of them in the bag on the back of the stroller. "Hopefully that changes when she gets older, or I'm going to have a terrible time relating to her."

"I think it's just a product of being a baby," the other man said with a smile. "My cousins were all like that when they were younger, and most of them have gotten used to wearing shoes by now."

"Most of them?" Kurt repeated, grinning back.

"My cousin Lily is kind of a hippie," the man said, shrugging as if to say _you know how it is_. "Drives my uncle crazy, I can tell you that."

"I'm sure I'd be the same way with Josie here," Kurt said, pulling back the hood of the stroller a little to reveal his baby's bright red hair. He switched his focus to her and baby-talked, "You're already too fond of turning Daddy's hair gray, aren't you?"

"At least she's cute, right?" the other man said, eyes sparkling. "May I say hi to her?"

"Of course," Kurt said, a little surprised he'd even bothered to ask. "She loves people."

"Hi, Josie," the man cooed, bending low to look her right in the eyes.

Josie babbled back at him in delight.

"Aren't you precious? Maybe one day you'll learn to keep your - _ow!_ "

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" Kurt said. He rushed forward to coerce Josie into letting go, but she had already released the other man's head - and honestly, Kurt really needed to ask this guy's name soon - and turned to Kurt with a bewildered look, making him burst out laughing.

"What?" the other man asked.

"She's so confused by your hair gel," Kurt said through his giggles. "Oh my God. I guess that'll help break her of her grabbiness."

He quickly grabbed his phone out of his pocket and snapped a couple of pictures of her face, which was still crumpled in adorable distress.

"Glad I could help," the other man said, also laughing. "So I'm not the only person this has happened to?"

"No, she loves people's hair," Kurt said, sticking his phone back in his pocket before unbuckling Josie and picking her up - she looked a little drowsy, and she always fell asleep faster if Kurt was holding her. "My friend Mercedes is usually the worst victim - when she wears her hair natural, it's like Josie's hands are magnetized to her scalp."

"Ooh, I can imagine," the man said, hissing sympathetically. "If I wore my hair ungelled, I'm sure she'd do the same to me."

"Now that's hard to believe," Kurt said. He looked at the other man's head and tried to determine what his hair might look like _au naturel._

"My friend Tina called me Bumble Blaine in college after she saw my natural state," the man said. "It's bad."

"Blaine? Is that your name?" Kurt said, zoning in on the actually important info in that anecdote. "I'm Kurt, by the way."

"Yeah, that's me," Blaine said, sticking out a hand for Kurt to shake. "Wow, sorry I forgot to say that earlier."

Kurt shifted a now-sleeping Josie carefully to one side so he could return Blaine's gesture, wondering if he was just imagining the tingles running up his arm once they made contact. "It's okay, I could've mentioned my own name by now as well."

Blaine lowered their hands but didn't move to let go, nor did Kurt try to pull away. "I was hoping I'd at least learn your name today."

"At least?" Kurt said softly, quirking a brow.

"I thought if I got really lucky, I could land your phone number, too," Blaine said, a little bashful. "I mean, if you're single! You could have a boyfriend or husband or something, but since you haven't mentioned anyone else yet…."

"No, I'm raising Josie alone," Kurt said, feeling himself blush and hug his daughter closer. "A friend of mine from work was surrogating for another couple, but then they apparently had a messy break-up and neither of them wanted the baby, so she was stuck - it was too late for an abortion by then. I was there when she went into labor, and then when Josie arrived - I just knew she was meant for me. Weird, I know, but-"

"No, no, I get it," Blaine said, squeezing Kurt's hand. "So they let you adopt her?"

"Yeah, it went smooth as could be," Kurt said. "Signed a few papers, proved my upright citizenship, and she was legally mine by the end of the week."

"That's amazing," Blaine said, smiling over at Josie. "She's a lucky girl."

"You really think so?" Kurt asked, surprised.

"I really do," Blaine said, turning his sincere gaze up to Kurt, who felt his breathing hitch.

They were silent for a moment before Kurt spoke again.

"But back to your original comment - I _am_ single, and I _do_ have a phone number I could give out," he said, wildly unsubtle. "I also have friends who are just dying for me to meet a nice guy so they can monopolize my daughter's time for a while without me hovering anxiously in the background."

"I think I can help you out there," Blaine said with a nose-scrunching grin, reaching for his own phone. "Can you do this one-handed, or…?"

Kurt laughed, as Blaine already had his arms outstretched, clearly hopeful. "Would you like to hold her? I wouldn't want to drop my baby or your phone as I'm typing, you know."

Blaine just kept smiling as Kurt took his phone before placing Josie in his arms. "I can take this one for the team."

Kurt almost messed up his own name and number four times before finally tearing his eyes away from Blaine and Josie, feeling a deep sense of rightness settle into his gut. Too many men before Blaine had been practically tripping over themselves to get away when Kurt mentioned Josie, but Blaine had been nothing but kind and enthusiastic, and oh God, was he singing a lullaby under his breath? Kurt's heart swelled with hope.

"That's it," Kurt said, a little breathless. "I can take her back now if you'd like."

"She's no trouble, especially now that she's not throwing or grabbing anything," Blaine said, but he handed her back all the same, taking his phone with a nod. "So, uh, do you think one of your friends might be interested in some baby time this weekend?"

"I can always _make_ one of them be interested if someone doesn't volunteer _Hunger Games-_ style to watch her," Kurt replied, feeling himself grin from ear to ear.

"I'll text you a time later, then," Blaine said, returning the smile. "I'd plan it all now, but my friend Sam is going to think I abandoned him if I keep him waiting much longer. I'm already forty-five minutes late."

"Go!" Kurt said, chuckling. "Believe me, I'll be up. If Josie naps much longer, she's going to be awake all night, which means _I'm_ going to be awake all night."

"Good luck with that!" Blaine said before nearly sprinting away. "You can tell me all about it on our date!"

(True to his word, Blaine let Kurt babble on about Josie when they went out to dinner that Friday night, actively interested in his stories - both the ones about her and about his life in general. In return, Kurt learned that Blaine was an up-and-coming musician, a sci-fi geek, and a great kisser. That last lesson may have been Kurt's favorite of the night.)


End file.
